Urgent search for woman stuck in Solway estuary mud

Urgent search for woman stuck in Solway estuary mud
Urgent search for woman stuck in Solway estuary mudPolice Scotland A woman with long hair and dark glasses in a blue denim shirt with a blue T-shirt underneathPolice Scotland
Police said Shona Campbell was visiting the area when she got into difficulties in mud on the Solway estuary

A major search operation is under way for a woman who went for a walk on the Solway estuary but phoned to say she was stuck in the mud.

Shona Campbell, 74, was staying at the Moss-Side caravan park in Cummertrees but has not been seen since the alarm was raised at about 17:00 on Monday.

It is understood she made the call to report getting into difficulties herself.

Police said “extensive searches” were being carried out involving specialist resources and they were working with other emergency services.

Urgent search for woman stuck in Solway estuary mudSolway estuary with beach/mudlats and an orange sky with grass in the foreground
The Solway has a number of mudflats which are considered to be dangerous, with many areas vulnerable to quicksand

Ms Campbell is believed to have been wearing jeans, a brown wax jacket and wellington boots.

Temperatures overnight in the area were sub-zero.

Insp Amy Ritchie said: “Every effort is being made to find Shona and her family are being supported by officers at this difficult time.

“From our inquiries so far, we know Shona left the caravan park to go for a walk before getting into difficulty and has not returned.

“Local officers and search advisers are being assisted by specialist resources.”

She appealed to anyone with information “no matter how small” to get in touch.

The area off the south of Scotland coast is considered dangerous due to some of the fastest tidal movements in Europe.

Large areas of mudflats surround the estuaries of the River Nith and River Annan, with many areas vulnerable to quicksand.

A pilot scheme is seeing if satellite imagery could help rescuers navigate the waters more quickly to get to people who find themselves in difficulties.

#Urgent #search #woman #stuck #Solway #estuary #mud


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *